MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. NATO leaders unanimously assert that the US-led bloc is not at war with Russia, yet everyone is well aware that the actual situation is different, and now the main issue is accurately evaluating the alliance’s actions, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday.
"Today <…> the main question is whether the hybrid war de facto declared on our country by NATO can be considered to be the alliance’s entry into war with Russia? Is it possible to view the delivery of a large volume of weapons to Ukraine as an attack on Russia?" the politician mused.
As Medvedev noted, "the leaders of NATO countries keep unanimously squawking that their countries and the entire bloc are not at war with Russia." "Yet, everyone is well aware that this is not the case," he noted.
Considering this, questions have emerged as to whether some objects of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization could be valid military targets. He reiterated that the issue of legitimate military targets has been interpreted differently throughout human history and has been perceived in various ways during the current conflict.
"However, something common lies in the customs of war and international conventions. These are the rules of conduct during wartime (jus in bello) which have their origins in sacred sources," the Security Council’s deputy chairman noted.
Thus, according to the top official, nowadays, "within the framework of the stated rules of warfare," legitimate military targets are, for instance, any enemy troops (legal and illegal combatants) who have not been officially withdrawn from among its armed forces. The politician added that this includes any of the enemy’s military and auxiliary equipment, any facilities related to military infrastructure as well as to civilian infrastructure which facilitates achieving military goals (bridges, transport stations, roads, energy facilities, plants and workshops that at least partially fulfill military contracts, and so on).
Among other valid targets, Medvedev named the military and political leadership of an adversary state, the armed forces of other countries that officially entered the war being allies of the enemy state and facilities located on their soil.